Spectacle lenses in sports: optimization of the imaging properties based on physiological aspects

The goal of correction spectacles is to create a sharp image on the retina by the combined optical system of the eye and the spectacle lens for a given ametropia. As a matter of principle, in this optical system an aberration free correction can be achieved in the optical centre of the spectacle lens, but not over the entire range of gaze angles. In spectacle optics large angles play an important role, different from paraxial optics where only rays close to the axis with small angles of incidence are relevant. This generates additional aberrations, the so-called oblique astigmatism, which can only be compensated at the expense of the spherical power. Therefore, every spectacle lens represents apart from the main visual point-, a more or less good compromise. For sports lenses in the currently used curved frames, an additional challenge arises from the fact that their orientation in front of the eye is generally not perpendicular to the principal gaze direction but tilted. In this article the imaging properties of such tilted sports lenses are discussed, and it is described why this results in a minor quality without a specific consideration of the obliqueness. The fact that tilted sports spectacles are also able to possess an improved correction behaviour for all gaze angles is due to individual mathematical optimization methods. The aim of the present article is, based on the underlying physical and physiological effects, to point out the advantages of individually optimized sports spectacle lenses in comparison to tilted lenses generated without applying this sophisticated computational method.